What a grey day!

Crumbs its a gloomy old day to day out there. The furry one and I took an early and very muddy stroll first thing. We've been spoilt of late with the most wonderful pink sunrise skys but oh not to day. A grey blanket has descended upon Sussex. Not a fluffy snuggly handloomed wooly wonder of a blanket. Oh no ...more the damp, dog haired type normally found strewn in the back of removal vehicles.

There is hope. A glowing hazy blur of yellow - low in the sky and struggling to burn through the grey gloom. Sun shine will return.

Yellow and Grey Vintage Fabric Lampshades

So in celebration of all things yellow and grey I've been busy this morning and made a collective of lampshades all featuring said colours. I say collective because I'm not sure what to call a group of lampshades. A"radiance" of lampshades, an "illuminus" of lampshades, an "effulgence" perhaps.... or a an "oculus".  I don't know.

Not the best day for natural light so apologies for the quality of the photographs. They'll be winging their way into the shop when better pics allow.

Crochet Therapy

Why am I hooking away with my feet up at 10.30 am when there are a 1000 and one things I should be doing?

I am crocheting for my sanity! Being a newby hooker I wondered how such a seemingly fiddly process should calm the senses. I had read that it was so from those whose work I admire. And I had sensed a whiff of cheerfulness and serenity from those that hook regularly. But I had not experienced it for myself until now.

Our boys have started their summer in some style.

With one doing this....

and another doing this...

...it is perhaps no suprise that we might have already incurred an injury.

Always armed with dressings and my trusty antiseptic cream I am no stranger to scrapes and cuts. Sadly Big J's accident on Friday whilst dirt jumping was more serious. He has fractured his wrist in two places and needs an operation next week to "bolt" the break together. Oh my goodness .......typing the words makes me feel more than queezy. There is NOTHING worse than having your child suffer.

A difficult few days in and out of hospital waiting rooms has passed and J must now cope with the dissapointment and frustration of cancelling all those holiday activities with his mates he had been so looking foward too. We know we are in good hands for the operation to come nonetheless I am feeling somewhat anxious but at the same time VERY thankful that his injuries are not worse.

So that I'm afraid is my reasoning for why for a few moments the washing, cleaning and the business can wait a while and the hooking takes over. To have found the donkey brown Rowan cotton in a charity shop for only 50p helps lessen the guilty pleasure even more! And dear Anne (aka Cloonty) if you're reading this thank you so much for teaching me how to wield a crochet hook. I'd still be staring at written pattern instructions in total confusion without you!

For those of you who might be interested....yes I was sitting here first. As usual the Furry One is by my side and saw a photo opportunity plus a ready warm spot to steal.

Bohemian Dream at Charleston Farmhouse

We are very lucky to live on the edge of the South Downs in East Sussex. It is a truly beautiful part of the world that has attracted generations of artists and crafts folk many of whom have made it their home.

From 1916 a group of thinkers, writers and artists known as the Bloomsbury set (Virginia Woolf, Maynard Keynes, Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant, Lytton Strachey, T S Eliot and E M Forster) banished stuffy Victorian conventions and created a unique Bohemian lifestyle against the background of the stunning Downs. There are three magical places to visit close by where they have made their presecence felt. The Monk's House, Berwick Chruch and the amazing Charleston Farmhouse.

Photo from the 2010 Brora Catalogue

Charleston is very much alive today and attracts coach loads of visitors undeterred by the remote setting down a pot holed track. There is no surface left untouched - wals, doors, fireplaces, lamps you name it are painted in the most extraordinary colours. Oh and the textiles!

Photos from the 2010 Brora Catalogue

Its is hugely popular with fashion designers as a backdrop for their latest collection. Most recently I spotted the beautiful Brora cashmere girls in residence. Now that's my kind of house - where a girl is inspired to paint wearing fingerless yellow cashmere gloves and baggy linen whilst sitting on an amazing multicoloured needlepoint rug.

You must come and see. Its only an hour a from London by train to Lewes and then a 15 minute taxi or bus  ride through Firle to Charleston.